Endemic to a few localities in two central Florida counties, this aromatic mint shrub is a FEDERALLY LISTED ENDANGERED SPECIES AND CANNOT BE SOLD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE. Similar to Conradina canescens it is a low wiry shrub with dense foliage consisting of grayish small needle-like leaves. The small tubular flowers are pale lavender to white. Native on deep sterile sandy soil in sunny sites, it should be planted in locations that are sunny and well-drained.
Collingwood Ingram' is a low-growing or spreading form of Rosmarinus officinalis (which see). It has bright blue flowers and narrow, dark green needle-like leaves. This evergreen shrub is very aromatic and requires full sun and well-drained, preferable slightly alkaline soil.
This spreading open-branched evergreen azalea has dull green to yellowish-green fuzzy leaves. The deep pink to rust colored flowers may appear sporadically through summer, but typically this species flowers in the fall, which is a unique feature. Rarely offered in the U.S. this azalea is one of the parents of the now popular "Encore" Hybrids. It is native to Taiwan. Culture is as for other evergreen azaleas.
This is a white-flowered form of Rhododendron austrinum (which see). This white form of the normally yellow-flowered Florida Azalea was selected by Florida plantsman Steve Riefler in northwest Florida.
Smooth aromatic shrub with soft green needle like leaves and pale white flowers. This endangered species native to deep sandy soil on bluffs and ravines near Apalachicola River in northwest Florida. Grow in sandy well-drained soil with minimal competition from other plants. Plant it in sun or very little shade. FEDERALLY LISTED ENDANGERED. CANNOT BE SOLD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE. Woodlanders pioneered the horticultural use of many of the little-known shrubby mint family plants native to the southern U.S.
Lithocarpus are evergreen trees related to both oak and chestnut. The acorns are like oak and the clusters of white flower spikes are like chestnut. The flowers are showy but ill scented. This species is native to eastern Asia and makes a nice dense evergreen tree somewhat like Quercus glauca. It is a useful tree for the South and should have an open site with good soil that is well-drained.
A bold, dramatic subtropical, Brugmansia (Datura) suaveolens 'Pink' hangs huge, soft pink, trumpet-shaped flowers, sometimes eight inches or more, that pour out an intoxicating fragrance on warm evenings. Herbaceous and dieback in zone 8, treelike in zone 10, the angel's trumpet makes a fast, theatrical show through a hot summer.
This is an herbaceous perennial vine climbing with tendrils. It has hairy lobed leave and 2 inch wide pink intricate flowers typical of Passiflora with feathery bracts beneath the flower. The vine is also noteworthy for the red fruits the size of small pullet eggs with the persistent bracts which hang on in fall as foliage dies down. An interesting vine for the sunny arbor or fence. We originally collected this as seed in San Antonio, Texas. Native to Central and South America and the West Indies but naturalized elsewhere in warm regions.
Passiflora caerulea is a vigorous evergreen vine climbing by tendrils. The leaves are deeply divided with narrow lobes. The flowers showy and intricate but ephemeral. Flowers three to four inches across and blue is typical for the species. This is a beautiful vine with striking flowers but can become rampant if not confined or restrained. It is native to Argentina.
Passiflora caerulea is a vigorous evergreen vine climbing by tendrils. The leaves are deeply divided with narrow lobes. The flowers showy and intricate but ephemeral. Flowers are three to four inches across and while blue is typical for the species 'Constance Elliott' is a white-flowered form. This is a beautiful vine with striking flowers but can become rampant if not confined or restrained. It is native to Argentina.
Quercus acutissima 'Gobbler' is a deciduous dense, broad, oval-rounded to broad-rounded tree with low-slung, wide-spreading branches. The cultivar Gobbler is the result of open-pollinated progeny that produce early and abundant acorns. One of the fastest growing oaks, especially in youth. Thrives in the heat of the South. Plant in well-drained, acidic soil but, also adaptable to other types of soil. This species is often confused with Chestnut because of leaf similarity. New Spring foliage is brilliant yellow to golden yellow. Often planted for wildlife especially wild turkeys which consume the acorns. It is also used as a shade or lawn tree. Quercus acutissima is native to eastern Asia.
This large growing fern is an uncommon native to swamps in the southern U.S. It has bold evergreen fronds. This rare fern is a great garden plant for rich moist soil in shady or semi-shady sites.
Dryopteris cycadina (D. atrata) is an easy-to-grow evergreen garden fern. The stiff leathery pinnate fronds make a good show in the shady or semi-shady woodland garden or along the shady side of a wall or building. .
This Asian fern has fronds with narrow strap-like pinnae. It is widely naturalized in warm regions where it often grows in cracks of old masonry walls and other spots with high calcium soils such as moist shady spots along foundations, etc.
Lady fern is one of the easiest and most graceful of the deciduous ferns, a soft, lacy fountain of finely divided, light green fronds that rise in a loose clump from spring into fall. Athyrium filix-femina brings a fresh, feathery texture to the shade garden and asks almost nothing in return.
A bold, handsome fern grown for foliage that holds through the year, Arachniodes simplicior 'Variegata' carries large, glossy, dark green fronds, each division marked down the center with a clean gold stripe. The variegated East Indian holly fern brings a strong, almost architectural texture to the shade garden, and the gold-striped fronds light up a dim corner.
This evergreen Old World fern has dark leathery leaflets suggesting holly leaves. It is an attractive coarse fern well-suited to moist shady spots in the garden or against walls. It is a favorite in many Deep South gardens.
Tall, upright, and luminous, the ghost fern brings a column of silvery light to the shade garden. Athyrium x 'Ghost' is a chance hybrid between the southern lady fern and the Japanese painted fern, found in Nancy Swell's Richmond, Virginia garden, taking the best of both parents: the upright, vase-shaped stature of the lady fern and the frosted, silver-green coloring of the painted fern, held on dark burgundy stems.
Few ferns light a shady bed like the Japanese painted fern. Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' lays soft, arching, triangular fronds in cool silver and gray-green, washed with burgundy along the midribs and stems, a living watercolor for the woodland floor. Named the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2004, this is one of the most popular and most beautiful of all colored ferns.
